From Manual Corruption To Mechanical Trustworthiness

Modi’s Digital India is bringing in a paradigm shift for better performance of the Indian economy. Fast obsolescence of technology and vast scale of operation are the only challenges.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power with a massive mandate in May 2014. His mantra has been good governance and economic development. Given the massive scale of poverty in India — in spite of the impressive growth witnessed in the last decade — the path to economic excellence is complex, which merits serious thought and policy initiatives.

As Modi seeks to put the Indian economy on a high growth trajectory, north of 7 per cent, his government is betting on deploying a broad spectrum of cutting-edge technologies as catalysts to enable this massive economic transformation. ‘Digital India’ initiative will play a pivotal role in facilitating this transformation.

The reliance on technology rather than ideology is a refreshing paradigm shift. Unlike the socialist ideology forced upon the nation for over six decades that resulted in stagnating poverty and measly growth rates, technology has proved to be a reliable catalyst in economic transformations of nations. More importantly, India, where a majority of the population are under 35 years of age, is impatient and in no mood to suffer economic hardships any longer.

The Industrial Revolution of yesteryears is a striking example of how new inventions and technologies spurred Western economies.  In more recent years, the advent of mobile phones has enabled widespread reach of telecom and mobile-enabled services to remote areas in poorer economies of Africa and Asia.

Kenya’s mobile banking is a shining example. Hence the reliance on technology is prudent and has the highest odds of success in enabling this massive transformation.

Digital India will provide both government and non-government service providers a platform to co-create and co-share a transparent, leak-proof — read corruption-free — and efficient delivery of services to every nook and corner of the country. This connectivity will hasten a feedback loop to the federal and regional governments by providing instantaneous data on various programme implementations and other vital information.

In fact, Prime Minister Modi, in his recent address at the NASSCOM summit on 1 March 2015, stressed the importance of digital technology in service delivery, governance, transparency and an effective deterrent to corruption. This will be a phenomenal achievement that will set the stage for rapid economic resurgence. The benefits are immense.

However, this reliance on technology is fraught with the obvious risk of obsolescence.

Rapid changes in technology can render huge investments redundant and hurt developing economies badly. Hence, the window of opportunity for deploying extant technologies as an agent of transformation is minimal to small. This is precisely why we find the almost obsessive pace with which the government is working to execute the Digital India initiative.

Leveraging digital technology as a transformational catalyst envisages three key prerequisites: knowhow, ability to consume digital technology and capital. These will dictate the success of the campaign.

Unlike cryogenic engine technology of the yesteryears where the country was held to ransom by western technology, India has access to the best-in-class digital knowhow, thanks to its homegrown IT majors. Skilled human assets, hence, would not be a problem.

Second, mobile usage in India is at a record high and growing. Consequently, the ability to consume services via digital technology is high. India currently has a telecom subscriber base of approximately 90 crore. This is a vast user penetration and an incredible service delivery platform for the government.

Availability of capital won’t be a major challenge. The Modi government has been investor-friendly and given the right sound-bytes to attract fresh investments. Many analysts who have followed this government for the last nine months believe that it may not face a serious challenge in raising funds externally. Internally, the recent auction of coal blocks that netted over Rs 1 lakh crore points at new financial muscle and determination of the government.

That leaves the execution and delivery of the project, which may be the weakest link in the chain. While Modi has the right credentials in delivering, as seen from the Gujarat experience, he is being tested in the translation of ideas on a national scale.

It is imperative to point out that for the first time in over six decades, the Indian government has mustered the courage to dream big — a clear vision rooted in pragmatism and not on ideology or rhetoric. This has gladdened the hearts of middle India. For starters, the Digital India initiative has prevailed over its biggest obstacle: selling the vision and winning hearts.

India today stands at a crossroads. A poor nation with lofty dreams that has squandered away its resources and treasure to corruption and a perverted politico-bureaucratic ecosystem bent on exploiting the country rather than serving it. It is this very system that will help execute and deliver on Modi’s vision for a digital India. Modi will need all hands on the deck since the initiative is fraught with high risks, but the rewards are huge, too.

The author’s views are personal and do not reflect those of the organisation he works for.